Dozens of Jewish settlers stormed on Wednesday morning the archaeological area in Sebastia town northwest of Nablus.
Muhammad Azem the mayor of Sebastia said that settlers broke into the place amid strict military measures by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF). The area and the roads linking to it were closed to the Palestinian citizens.
Azem pointed out that IOF soldiers were deployed since the early morning hours in the streets of the town and on the roofs of Palestinian homes.
For almost four months Jewish settlers have organized incursions into the archaeological site every Wednesday under the IOF protection.
Sebastia is routinely subjected to incursions by IOF and the closure of the archaeological area to secure the raids of Jewish tourists who perform religious rituals claiming that it is Israeli territory.
